Ahh…Summer. A change of pace. A chance to relax and rejuvenate. When my children were younger, I confess to not always being really excited about not having school for almost three months. Though I loved them dearly, after about six weeks of unstructured time, we were all ready for a routine again.

 I don’t know what happened to the year. I just saw them out the door for the first day of school. I blinked, and on Monday, another school year has gone. As teenagers, they have very full lives and are pulling slowly, but deliberately, away from me and my husband. And, because this is what SHOULD happen, I am happy for them. It also gives a whole new slant to summer. So, though I am a creature who likes routine, this break is wonderful, and the time I spend driving them around or watching them do their thing, holds a special sort of charm for me. It’s all going so fast…

Another benefit to having teens (did I mention there really are a lot of benefits?) is that they are a REAL help when it comes to doing projects. Though summer is a time for fun and rest, it’s also a great time to get some things done! I have a list and a half—which is long enough to last a year or two. But it gives me a place to start and choices to make. And I have a little bit of home-grown help.

In between driving, laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, the mission trips, the basketball camps, cross country training, football lifting, oral surgery, two family weddings, and little outside jobs (theirs, not mine!), here is “The List.” It’s big. It’s bad. It’s totally unrealistic. And for some strange reason, I’m OK with that.

To Do:

• Pick strawberries. Make preserves. (first time ever!)
• Paint kitchen.
• Paint dining room.
• Make window treatments for master bedroom.
• Clean out closets.
• Clean out kitchen cabinets.
• Organize and beautify laundry room.
• Organize utility room.
• Do something/anything to the deck.
• Replace bathroom window with windows.
• Get plan for outside beautification.
• Sell dining room table and chairs.
• Organize and rearrange study.
• Frame photos for basement walls.
• Wash windows.
• Have trees trimmed.
• Spend some time in the hammock.
• Remember to laugh.

 I have a feeling I’ll blink, and it will be August 23. Two kids in high school—and busy with life. It’s all good, but I sure hope to enjoy the now. Summer. Ahh…

Blink-free, I hope!